Leather



.waited mes @anni (attire.

Leners .Patent No. 95,779, mea ocrbber 12, 1869.

IMPROVED MODE OIE' SDFTENING- LEATHER -MOH*- The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the saine To vall whom 'it lmay concern Be it known that I, HENRY CUNNINGHAM, of the city and county of Albany, State of New York, have invented va new and improved Mode o'f'Softening Leather; and-I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof', reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a inacbine operated by my method. l

Figure 2 is a vertical view, through blue line in iig. 3, with upper roller removed Figure 3 is a side elevation of the machine.

Most kinds of leather used for boots, shoes, gloves, 8vo., require, after wha-tis'termed finishing, to be softened.

Theusual mode of softening leather has been by rubbing, or rolling with a buffer, on a board, or by beating, all of which modes require considerable time.

My invention consists in softening leather by a sort of kneading-process, by the means ot' three or more rollers, furnished with corrugations running circularly around the said rollers. One or more of the said rollers have the raised portions of the corrugaf tions furnished with flattened or scalloped points or places. One of the said rollers is so arranged and operated that it will have a circular, and a reciprocating motion to and from the other rollers.

A piece of rubber, of proper size, is also used, and placed in the centre of the roll of leather to be operated upon, which rubber acts in such a manner as to distend or throw back the compressed portion of the roll to its original form. i

The roll of leather, with its central rubber piece, is placed between the rollers, which revolve in one and the same direction, and cause the roll between them t'o revolve. v

The flattened orscalloped place on the rollers, in their revolutions, and the reciprocating action of the one roller acting on the roll of leather between, press, bend, rub, and knad the roll as it revolves around, thus softening the leather, as is desired.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe it, in reference tothe accompanying drawings, and the letters of reference marked thereon, the same letters indicating like parts'.

A, igs. 1, 2, and 3, represents any suitable frame 4 to support the several parts of the machine.

B and C are two rollers, running in proper bearings, by band-wheels or by gears.

The said rollers are furnished with corrugations, and the said corrugations are furnished with several flattened or scalloped points or places, a, g. 3.

When the corrugated rollers B and G are run with bands, the said flattened or scalloped places a should be placed in number unequal on the said rollers, as shown in fig. 3, but when run by gears they may be equal in number, and be so placed and geared as will bring them alternate and not opposite.

D is a third roller, having its bearings in a vibrating frame, d, pivoted at some distance, c, from the rollers B and G.

The said roller D is furnished with plain corrugations, as shown in figs. l and 3, and is run with abelt by a band-wheel.

The corrugations of the said roller are so formed, and the roller is so placed, that the raised portions ot' the corrugations will be directly over the sunken portions of B and C, as shown in fig. l, and by red lines in iig. 2.

A reciprocating motion, to and from the rollers B and C, is imparted to the roller D by means ofcams` or wiper-wheels, e, figs. 1 and 2, which wiper-wheels act upon the under side of the flame-pieces (l, to throw it up and with the roller D, while a weight, f, fig. 3, brings it down. Y

The shaft of the wiper-wheels c has its bearings in the standard h, 'attached to the bars 71,', figs. 1 and 3, which bars h are pivoted to the main frame A, and can be raised or lowered, and thus affect the capacity of the space for the leather E vto be softened between the rolls, by raising or lowering the frame rl carrying -the roller D, as shown in iigs. 1 and 3.

g, figs. 2 and 3, is a piece of rubber of any suitable form.

The' said rubber piece is placed within the centre of the roll of leather G, to be operated upon, and by its elasticity throws back the compressed portion of the roll immediately after the.: compressions have been made by the operation ofthe machine.

To operatethis invention, the leather G is rolled around the central rollers B and O, and, when properly placed, the roller D is suered to drop down upon the said roller G, as shown in fig. 3.

The rollers B, C, and D, are then made to revolve in the same direction, either by band or gear-wheels, or both, which will cause the roll of leather G to revolve between the said rollers, and in a contrary direction. c

The wiper-wheels c c are also made to operate at the same time, the frame d, of the roller D, causing the said roller to pound the roll G, and breakit down in several places into the sunken portions of the corrugations of the rollers B and C.

The flattened or scalloped portions a, on iheprojecting portions of the corrugationsof the' 1o.lers B4 and C, also act on the roll (inthe several places in Contact) in such a Way as to give a kind of pinch to the leather. f

The central rubber piece g, in all the operation, alternately yields to the'sevelal pressures givenv to the leather by the rollers, and throws them back. This operation is continued for a sufficient length of timo, until the Whole roll is softened, when it is taken out from between thc rollers, which may be eiected by throwing up the upper roller D, by lifting on the handled lever m, figs. l and 3.

Leather may by this mode be softened in far less l time than by the usual process now used.

As the corrugated rollers, B, G, and D, would operate well by having flattened or scalloped places a placed alternate of the raised portions ofthe corrugations, I would not decline using them thus placed; neither do I confine myself to the vnumber to be made on a roller, as they can be made lo work well with one line ofthe same, if the rollers are made to run at a higher speed neither does the proper operation of this mode of softening leather demand that the rollers D should not be furnished with flattened places a, as such flattened places would not substantially eliect the desired result; neither do I confine myself to the number of rollers used. Any numbers which would 3. In a leather-softening machine, operated by corrugated rollers, the roller D, hung inthe vibrating frame' d, in Ycombination with the cams or wiper-A wheels e, substantially as and for the purposeset forth. -4. The hinged bars h', and wiper-wheels e, in combination with the rollerD, substantially as and.` for the purpose set forth.

HENRY vOUEN IN GHAM.

Witnesses ALEX. SELKIRK, CHAS. SELKIRK. 

